Hugh boyd cowpee



No. s|3,|92. Patented Oct. 25, I898.

H. B. CUWPER.

GAME.

(Application filed Nov. 1, 1397.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGH BOYD COWPER, OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

GAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,192, dated October 25, 1898. Application filed November 1, 1897. Serial No. 657,129. (No model.) Patented in Ganada. December 1, 1897, No. 58,236.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HUGH BOYD CoWPER, of the city of Montreal, in the district of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Games, (for which I have received a patent in Canada, dated December 1, 1897, No. 58,236,) and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to games comprising a board having a series of pockets and guards for such pockets, a chute, and ball, and has for its object to improve such games by introducing therein features which call for a greater degree of skill and judgment in play than is required in games of a like character hitherto produced.

Briefly described, the invention consists in a board having a series of pockets, balls, and guards for the pockets, which guards are movable to different positions, according to the judgment of the players, as they may win the option of scoring a point or placing a guard to obstruct the opponents play.

For full comprehension, however, of the invention reference must be had to the annexed drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which like symbols indicate corresponding parts, and wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective View of the board with guards in position at the start, and Fig. 2 a similar view showing condition of the board with some of the guards removed by a winning player from obstructing points on his side of the board to obstructing positions on his opponents side.

A is the board, which may be square, as shown, octagonal, or other form, and b an encircling upwardly-projecting wall or flange, which may be plain Wood if rubber balls are used in the game, or provided with elastic cushions if ivory, glass, or other balls are preferred.

c, d, e, f, and g are the pockets in the board, arranged, preferably, the one, o, in the center and the others so that from either corner of the board two of them can be conveniently played into at the outset, the rules of the game obliging the players to roll the balls from the movable chute 71, located at the corner. The central pocket 0 is preferably encircled by a permanently stationary guardwall it, having openings 70 therein facing each corner in order to render it more difficult to reach the pocket 0, while guard-pins m m m m m m are at the outset disposed in pinholes, as shown in Fig. 1, other pin-holes being shown at n n or between the outer pockets d e f g and the corners of the board.

In playing the game the first player-say at corner A-can with little difficulty succeed in lodging some of the series (usually five) of balls 19 in the unguarded pockets d 6 near his corner, and assuming that he pockets three he has won the arbitrary score of fifteen, five for each ball, which score he may either place to his credit on ascore-card or remove guardpins of corresponding values from obstructing positions in front of openings on his side to the central pocket, a ball in which counts higher, and place such guard-pins so as to obstruct his opponents pockets f 9.

Fig. 2 of the drawings shows the condition of the board when player at corner Ahas Won fifteen and elected to remove guard m, valued at ten, and guard m valued at five,from their positions in Fig. 1 to the pin-holes, where they will obstruct his opponents pocket f. It will thus be seen that player from corner A has now only one pocket that can be reached easily while player B has a free entry to the central pocket, although the chances are that player B will win ten at least, thus enabling him to place a guard-pin from his side in this opening previously freed by A. The game continues, and when either player considers it safe to do so he adds a portion of his win to the score-card, and the first to reach a given figure wins the game.

What I claim is as follows:

A game comprising a board with a central and outer pocket and a guard-wall with openings about the central pocket, a ball or balls, a chute or chutes, pin-holes to receive guards in front of said pockets and movable guard-pins for such pockets, as shown and for the purpose described and set forth.

HUGH BOYD OOWPER.

Witnesses:

OWEN N. EVANS, FRED. J. SEARS. 

